Please do not feel bad. I am easily as reactive as Risa is and, unfortunately, no one is working on my behavior modification to the high-level that I work on hers. (I am trying, though. Harder to work on your own problems. . .)

Just today, I did a similar thing with Risa. To say I've been a bit down lately would be an understatement and Ri often ends up on the receiving end. We were out walking and she usually is at the end of her 6 foot leash in front of me or slightly off to the side. For whatever reason, she was walking close behind me and I tripped and stumbled on the leash. I yelled at her and pulled on the leash to move her over to the side and out of my way. Was it her fault I tripped? Sort of. . .but she doesn't know that. Should I have gotten so upset with her? Nope. But I'm human. She still loves me anyway.

Honestly, it's just like in training. If the number of good experiences outweigh the bad, the dog feels like whatever it is is an overall GOOD thing. Don't sweat it.

Hey at least you didn't kick your dog HARD in the ribs last night like I did! I was getting ready for bed and went back downstairs to get something. The lights were already off. I had a light on upstairs and the rug in my living room downstairs is dark brown. My eyes didn't adjust fast enough to the darkness and I accidentally kicked Coke so hard! I felt so bad, I was following him around apologizing but he kept walking away from me and jumped into DH's lap.

Gosh, I would sure hope Niko doesn't have joint issues. His hip x-rays were just about perfect and he's on a joint supplement to boot. He does have a healing abrasion on his back foot from a couple days ago, but it has scabbed up and doesn't seem to be bothering him at all. I guess it's possible, but Don gets quick sits out of him (and I had him show me to prove it). Although, I was surprised to see that Niko was slow to do Down for Don, which brings me back to thinking that there is indeed some confusion in regards to Don using "Sit Down" as a command.

Amy, you are right, I have seen Rosa give Niko the what for more than a few times! She's probably even scarier than I am.

This is why I like Don, doesn't over think it!

Leah, unless you have been secretly kicking his backside or hips regularly, I doubt he has any medical problem. Sometimes I think it’s just tone of voice. I know when I’ve gone through the exercises day in and day out, it becomes rather routine for me, and I don’t doubt that it shows in my voice. Yes, I get excited and laugh and snort and carry on, but I would think they can pick up on the purely routine tone too. Whereas, Don probably doesn’t train them nearly as much as you do, so when he does give them a command, his voice is a change of pace and probably also a little more crisp.

You might have to go back to tossing in a few “sits” in the middle of exuberant play times or suddenly on a leisurely walk – any time that would change the routine and come unexpectedly. I think you will see a difference in his response because of the difference in your tone. Slow sits, unfortunately, are the fault of the trainer, IMO.

Oops, just realized I got waaay off topic! If we were to keep score on the "I'm sorrys" with our dogs, we would be the 'sorry' losers, but thank goodness, they live in the present and don't even remember our knee-jerk responses!

Oh Jan, I think you have a good point on the sits. I think I have taken all the fun out of sits for him, somehow. I have been using it to gauge his "biddability", for lack of a better term. Why, I don't know. I'm not sure being able to command an instant sit at random necessarily makes me a good trainer, and I'm not sure why I was feeling like I should have that kind of control over him. I think if I made it fun again, I might see more responsiveness from him.

Leah, I do feel you should be able to command a sit at any time, and not just for fun. Perhaps you have to go back and train him in fun if that is what works for both of you, but eventually it has to get serious. Just as an example, what if he were chasing something - anything - and were about to run onto a highway and the only thing you could think to yell was "SIT!"? It could mean the difference between instant behavior and a tragedy.

Granted, that is extreme, but why train at all if the end result isn't control - meaning, the dog does what you want?

To stop the confusion in my house because I have a DH that does the "Sit - Down" is I don't use the down command for any thing.

Paws on counter or hanging on a gate - - OFF

Sit is Sit or Sitz / Sitz is my more formal and I want to see quick action.

Lay down is - - Settle (means find a comfortable spot and chill) - - Platz is that belly better be hitting the ground right now.

I use formal and informal commands. Since I am around my dogs all the time, I don't always feel like they need to be at the top of their OB performance so I use the informal commands, but if I change the tone of my voice they get the message that she means NOW.

Stop = Stop trying to make up / apologize to your dog. Check over for injuries and a pat on the head or shoulder should do. If you go over board, the dog is confused, what the heck is she doing???

When I was on vacation, and there was no mud, Rocco and I were playing in the yard and he was jumping up at me. I was laughing, we were having a good time, and you know...he's got hops. So he bounced up way higher than I thought he might - so I kept my big noggin right there, and he hit me in the nose so hard I thought it was going to kill me. And the poor dog, I was like RAWR OWWWW GAHHHH SOBISCUITS AAAAAAAAH and he ran, the other dogs stopped whatever they were doing, like when they show all the forest animals looking up in movies...

I do have to say, most of my dogs are very forgiving of being bumped or jostled 9x out of 10, but if something really hurts, then they do that kind of thing too.

I think Don is right on. Pack members tell each other off/correct each other all the time and then they move on. Try not to be so hard on yourself. Geesh...we humans can be so ape-like at times!